Newcomers set to provide immediate impact in 2018
With the start of another season of Aggie football comes hope, optimism, excitement, and a handful of new names and faces for Utah State fans to get familiar with.
Despite only losing two starters on each side of the ball from last year’s squad, and bringing back a team which Phil Steele Magazine ranked 26th in the nation in terms of experience, the Aggies are going to rely heavily on some of their newcomers in an effort to turn last year’s 6-7 record into a Mountain West Conference championship.
Adding 28 newcomers in the offseason, including eight who transfered to the team from different junior colleges and universities, the Aggies have added much-needed depth and talent to a team which lost three games by just a touchdown or less last season. In fact, USU head coach Matt Wells felt confident enough at the beginning of fall camp to say that this year’s team probably has more depth than any other that he’s coached during his six-year stint at the helm.
However, just because 18 starters are back from last season doesn’t mean 18 guys have solidified starting roles going into this season.
“Yes, we do have a lot of depth and, yes, everyday guys have to buy production. You have to earn that spot,” Wells said. “There’ll be some spots that the depth chart that probably change daily.”
Transfers have become an enormous part of college football in recent years. While developing 18-year-old kids who recently graduated from high school is still an important aspect of the game, Utah State has placed a large emphasis on bringing in ready-made players from other universities and junior colleges which can make an immediate impact on the field.
Some of the most accomplished players in USU’s recent history started at different programs. Guys like Maurice Alexander, Matt Austin, Al Laupaho, Bojay Filimoeatu, the Whimpey brothers, Hunter Sharp, David Moala, and Austin Stephens all came in with prior college experience and made an immediate impact. In fact, nine of the 18 returning starters from last year’s squad did not begin their collegiate careers at Utah State.
One of the most notable places where the Aggies took a hit during the offseason was in the offensive backfield. Running back LaJuan Hunt, a player who accounted for 24 career starts while playing in 51 games, and who amassed 1,846 career rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, graduated, leaving large shoes to fill.
Utah State returns just 49% of its rushing yardage production from last season, and just 33% of its rushing touchdowns. Attempting to fill in some of that void is junior college transfer Darwin Thompson.
Thompson, a junior transfer from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, has turned many heads early on. In an NFL.com article published in June, the Oklahoma native was named one of the 18 “most freakish athletes” in all of college football. It’s really no wonder why, when he had a video of him front-squatting 500 lbs go viral on Twitter during the summer.
Matt Halton Darwin Thompson will immediately contribute to USU’s rushing attack in 2018.
“My Twitter went crazy for like three days straight,” Thompson said. “But really like, lifting weights is cool and all, but I do it to prevent injuries. When I’m at my strongest I have confidence over everybody. I’m like ‘you can’t handle me, I’m way stronger than you are, I’m faster, I’m a better all-around athlete.’”
On the field, it shows. In high school, Thompson was what he described as an “average athlete, average player,” and he didn’t receive a single collegiate offer to play football. Viewed as slightly undersized for his position at 5’8, he walked on to play at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. There, he spent two years shattering records and leading the Norsemen to climb as high as No. 4 in the national rankings.
Last season, Thompson was named a National Junior College Athletic Association second-team All-American after leading the nation with 1,619 all-purpose yards, and ranking second in the nation in overall rushing yards with 1,391. He averaged 7.5 yards per carry, the second-highest average in the nation as well.
While he was heavily recruited following such a successful sophomore campaign, Thompson chose Utah State for one main reason.
“This school stood out because it was business when I talked to Coach Wells,” Thompson said. “He’s from Oklahoma and Coach Farmer is from Oklahoma, so it made me feel like home. Then to top it off when I met Coach Dave (Scholz) the deal was over with. I was ready to sign here and come here that day.”
“There’s no kiddy stuff any more. If you want to play here, you’ve got to be a grown man, so that’s what I was looking for. I’ve only got two years left and I needed a program that would be all business, so this was the best spot for me.”
While the running back position is sure to be competitive this season with returning players like junior Gerald Bright and sophomores Morian Walker and Tre Miller, Thompson said he is excited for the competition.
“It’s a family competition,” he said. “One thing we came up with is ‘forget about me, I love you.’ That’s what a family means to us. We’re all working cause we’ve all got dreams of playing in the league, and we all push each other to become great every day.”
The other offensive position which needs to replace a starter is perhaps one of the position groups with the most overall talent and depth: outside wide receiver.
With the graduation of eight-game starter Braelon Roberts, the Aggie coach staff made an enormous push to bring in more talent to fill the gap at the receiver position. Along with adding four high school recruits at the position, USU brought in junior college transfer Devin Heckstall and USC transfer Jalen Greene.
“The outside receiver position will be completely different than you saw in the spring game,” Wells said. “The competition in that room just amped up, it just got better. Guys are going to have to be consistent and prove that they deserve playing time.”
Matt Halton Devin Heckstall runs a route during a scrimmage in fall camp.
Greene is possibly the highest-profile player the Aggies added during the off-season, and he will have a chance to earn playing time and have an immediate impact on the team. Though he was recruited out of high school as a quarterback, Greene committed to USC and quickly switched over to play receiver. After redshirting his freshman season, he played in 21 games and earned three starts over the next three years.
Soon after making the decision to leave USC the graduate transfer committed to play for Illinois, though he had a change of heart once Utah State made an offer.
“The big thing is I’m a big family person, and Coach Wells immediately contacted my dad and my mom, and my family felt it was a good decision,” Greene said. “They got behind me and motivated me and told me that this might be the best place for me, and that was all it took.”
While Greene is likely one of the front-runners to earn a starting spot in camp, Wells has made it abundantly clear that no spots on the depth chart are guaranteed and that every day of camp will be a battle.
That didn’t detract Greene from wanting to be an Aggie.
“Another thing that sold me to come here as well was Coach Wells telling me ‘I can’t promise you anything, I can’t promise you a certain amount of catches, you’re gonna get what you work for,’” he said. “One thing that I pride myself on is the amount of work that I put in on a daily basis, and that’s recognized through the amount of passes and playing time that they give you.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Utah State suffered two significant hits by losing safety Dallin Leavitt and All-American cornerback Jalen Davis, each of whom graduated and landed spots on NFL rosters. The duo combined last season for nine interceptions, 20 pass breakups and 127 tackles.
The overall production and the leadership that the Aggies lost with those two seniors would be very difficult for any team to replace. However, they will rely in part on the playing time and experience returning with players such as senior safeties Gaje Ferguson and Jontrell Rocquemore, sophomore safety Ja’Marcus Ingram, senior cornerback Deante Fortenberry, and junior cornerback Cameron Haney.
Along with bringing several experienced players from last year’s squad, the Aggies also added a couple of junior college prospects to the defensive secondary in sophomore safety Shaquez Bond and junior cornerback DJ Williams.
Wells said that these are two guys Aggie fans should probably get familiar with.
“A lot of the fans don’t know their names yet, but there’s some talented guys back there,” he said. “How well they gel, can we stay healthy, how much better does the front-seven play? The better the front-seven plays, the more the secondary will be tested”
Bond spent his freshman season playing at Southwestern Community College in Chula Vista, Calif. where he recorded 36 tackles and eight interceptions. He also played an enormous role on special teams, blocking three kicks for the Jaguars.
Matt Halton Shaq Bond will see time in the defensive backfield for the Aggies in 2018.
USU was able to bring in another big-time JC commit with Williams, who started his career at the University of Chattanooga before transferring to Independence Community College. Williams recorded 56 tackles, three pass breakups and two fumble recoveries his sophomore season to earn first-team NJCAA All-America honors. He received 11 Division I offers before ultimately choosing Utah State.
Williams said that the transition from Independence to Utah State has been nearly seamless.
“It’s really a big family here,” he said. “The transition was very good for me because I had a good big brother in Roc (Jontrell Rocquemore), and since the day I got here he’s been with me every step of the way. But it’s not just him, I’ve had offensive linemen and a bunch of guys there for me, it’s just really been a family since I got here.”
The linebacker corps will be adding a new face as well this season. Though he is not truly a newcomer since he spent last season in Logan redshirting due to NCAA transfer rules, Tipa Galea’i is one name Aggie fans will likely learn quickly this year.
Matt Halton Tipa Galea’i, a transfer from TCU, will provide a presence as an edge rusher from his outside linebacker position in 2018.
Galae’i, a transfer from TCU, has every bit of potential to wreak havoc on Mountain West offenses this season. Out of high school, Utah State recruited him to play with his brother Salanoa, who was a long snapper for the Aggies from 2014-15. In fact, USU was the first Division I program to offer him a scholarship.
However, with offers from 10 different Power Five schools including teams from the SEC, ACC, Pac 12 and Big 12, Galae’i’s only visit to USU was an unofficial visit while coming to watch his brother play in a spring game.
Playing defensive end for TCU his first two seasons, he became an important part of the defense. The Texas native played in 10 games, while recording 24 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss, and recovering two fumbles. Now, with a year to adjust to a new position, as well as to get acclimated to the culture and program at Utah State, Galea’i is ready to get going.
“The team that we have right now, I have a lot of trust in them. My goal is to build their trust for me,” he said. “The competition is great, I love competition. If you don’t have competition there’s no drive to be better and improve every day. The boys that are with me, the outside backers, I love them a lot, man. I feel like we can all bring something to the table. We’re all capable of doing something really great for this defense.”
With two years remaining in his college career, the junior from Texas said that he was able to really benefit from taking a redshirt season last year.
“I used that time to get used to this culture,” he said. “It’s a different school and there are a lot of things that are different than my old school, and I love it. The differences are what help me grow, and I got to know these guys, and got to know these coaches and know their defense, and how things go around here. It just makes me excited to feel like I’m acclimated now so I feel good for this year.”
As Utah State enters the 2018 season with high hopes and even higher expectations, there is no shortage of candidates for who may become the next breakout transfer player for the Aggies as they work toward their championship aspirations.
“I know we’re going to be a good team,” Wells said. “We strive to put ourselves in the position in the month of November to compete for a Mountain West Championship. That goal hasn’t changed since we walked in there, and it’s something we truly believe we can put ourselves in the position to do and we can’t wait to do it.”
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